Thursday, July 12, 2018

New Testament Survey - Chapter 4

Continuation from my class notes:

The Book of Hebrews

The author of Hebrews is unknown.  Many would surmise it was written by Apostle Paul, but it would be unusual for Paul not to identify himself in this letter, since he did in his other 13 epistles.  Since my studies in seminary, I lean toward an author no one else has mentioned...Priscilla.  Paul often stayed with Priscilla and Aquila, and they were under his teaching as they did tent making together.  The theology in Hebrews is very much Pauline, but presented in a different manner.  

Priscilla, being a woman, did not dare mention her authorship of the letter as it would have been discarded by her culture, as well as ours.  She knew women were not respected for their knowledge or skills.  She was very wise in withholding her identity, while presenting one of the strongest writings in a book intended for reestablishing the Jewish Christians in their faith.  They could not go back to Judaism and remain established in their salvation experience.

The arguments made in Hebrews are that Jesus Christ is better:
- than angels
- than Moses and Joshua
- as a high priest than the Levites

The New Covenant is better than the Old Covenant, as the Laws are written on the heart, not on a tablet of stone.  Faith is the key to salvation and results in practical Christian conduct.

The Book of James

James, the brother of Jesus, is responsible for authorship of this book.  The crowd he addresses is the Jews in the Diaspora.  He puts strong emphasis on practical Christian living.

James stresses doing more than believing, unlike Paul.  True Faith does not discriminate; is always complemented by good works; controls the tongue; does not argue with his neighbors; and remains in open communication with God.  Key verse in James:

James 1:22 New Living Translation (NLT)

22 But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.

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